chx1975

Weird thread. I am not obese, I am 6'3 and 220lbs and I live with this fact. I pay for the "economy comfort", "premium seating", whatever it is called. I do not go the airport and demand an exit row/bulkhead seat because I don't fit in normal economy seats. Everyone would find that ridiculous. So how's that different from someone who doesnt fit the other direction?

skylady

Who decides who, and how gets measured? Should boarding now begin 2 hours early to faciliatate this process?
We can't even get bgas measured, let alone people!

candi

Charge by weight.

When the boarding agent takes your ticket, you step on a scale. A barcode or qr on the ticket is scanned and records your weight. Your credit card is adjusted from a national average. You weigh less, money is debited. Weigh more, credited.

Or better yet...

Using lasers, we measure a person's standing girth and calculate charges by the inch. It's easy to do. There's a grid of lasers on the x and z axis and what one blocks out is measured instaneously. Of course, people's girth are different on the y axis and we'll need a moving laser grid to scan for the optimal fatness.

When a passenger crosses a threshold of weight or girth, they are assigned two seats. If no seats are available, the cabin crew stands. We should all suffer equally.

Anyways, flying is already loathsome. Adding scales or lasers can make it moreso. But i'm not flying anymore so it is cool and the gang with me.

More Hassle and Less Privacy.™ TSA, you owe me on this!

belfordrocks

Hahahahaha

PVDtoDEL

Actually, may not be a bad idea. US could revolutionize the way air travel is priced by charging a unit price per pound. So you, your carryons, and your checked bags are all loaded up on a scale. Then you pay by the pound. So for example, BOS-LAX could be priced at $2 per pound for a W fare, but $8 per pound for a Y fare.

This would be a more accurate reflection of costs, and would make US attractive to lighter, more profitable people. The FFP could offer free gym access as a perk. And they could add treadmills to the lounges.

Weatherboy

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/25/travel...iref=obnetwork

Well, it made CNN.

Out of curiosity, what would happen if there was a passenger count goof and there was an extra passenger on board than there were seats. (i.e.: pax was in the lav, moving around during count, etc....and somehow the plane took off with one less seat than it needed.) What kind of fines/penalties/credits to the pax would be levied in such a situation?

In a way, that's what happened here: there wasn't sufficient room to occupy all the passengers safely. They should have denied boarding to someone to make room.

dcpatti

That happened to me on UA-- well not to me but another passenger on the flight--- the passenger was in the lav and came out whilst we were taxi'ing. We went back to the gate to offload a passenger.

The way I read this story is that the passenger did not complain until after they were up in the air, which really does limit the options for fixing things.

AlohaDaveKennedy

Not at all - RyanAir has talked about solving that problem by simply doing away with all seats.

My bad - Ryan did indicate they would keep the pay per use seat in the loo.

NewbieCollegeFlyer

I disagree with your argument "So how's that different from someone who doesnt fit the other direction?" because I can't change my height, but I can change my weight.

I am 6'5 and 230 lbs and I do ask for an exit row or upgrade every time I fly. 90% of the time I get it. The times I don't, if I'm stuck in a window seat, the people usually trade with me without my asking. Not only for my comfort but for their comfort too. In general, coach seats are way too small, but the only thing I have influence over is my weight, not height. I think excessive weight should be charged by the airline unless the person has proof their weight problem is a registered disability. Some people do have health reasons that prevent them from loosing weight, which is not fair to charge them more if they cant change it.

I cant change my height, but I can change my weight. In the last 2 years I've lost weight down to 163lbs and gained it back, plus some. I once spent many hours on a flight from ORD to Munich in economy on Lufthansa in 2004 next to an obese woman in coach in an exit row. That happened because she was seated next to another large gentlemen in an exit row. I volunteered because 8+ hours with leg room was worth sacrificing half my seat. The person I originally sat next to lost half their seat too. However that problem never would have arisen if the airline would have charged both people for an extra seat, then I wouldn't have had to lay on top of a stranger for 8 hours.


Bottom line, I understand people have weight issues, but why should I suffer? If it can be changed, tax them. If unchangeable like disability or height, accommodate them.

Joshua

I believe Thromby Air found a unique solution to this: http://www.thrombyair.com/2010/09/departure-slots/

N965VJ

Back in the day, if there were too many non-revs and not enough seats, sometimes they would end up in the lavs or standing in the cockpit. Those days are long gone.

Boraxo

When I saw the headline I assumed it would be Spirit or perhaps RyanAir but US???

Hopefully a DOT complaint will be filed and US will be fined heavily for violating safety regulations. Alas the passenger is probably unable to obtain anything more than a refund for breach of contract, though if I were him I would milk this on the talk shows, etc. as US ought to pay additional compensation for its failure to follow its own rules as well as DOT regs.

studentff

Yeah, I don't see how this can't be a huge FAA violation that needs to result in firings. Airlines routinely claim they can't push back from the gate until all passengers are seated, so if this passenger was standing, then one or more FAs screwed up badly.

And if someone has to stand, why is it the encroached-upon passenger and not the COS, who was likely displacing two passengers since he was supposedly in a middle seat? Seriously. Why is it always the other guy who has to suffer instead of the source of the problem?

I haven't had to deal with this yet (came close once on US TATL but a gate agent magically upgraded me to business before I could complain), but I have tried to steel myself for demanding deboarding and IDB compensation if I cannot make use of the seat I paid for. No way would I let them close the door under these circumstances.

LowlyDLsilver

And if you can believe the CNN story, basically it restates what we already know - unless you make them address the issue before you take off, pound sand will be the response you will get.

It seems they count on people being non-confrontational - and your discomfort doesn't really concern them. While it's not PC, nothing will change unless people stand up for themselves - as politely as possible, of course.

200 bucks doesn't begin to cover the problem this guy had.

STVA

Off topic and has probably been said but it's goofy that a 150 lb pax will get in trouble for having their luggage 5 lb over the limit but a large pax with luggage within the weight limits but their body weight of 300 lbs is acceptable.